Worth The Wait

Pulling into the crowded parking lot of the restaurant, I mumbled under my breath about the number of hungry patrons already waiting. They were swarming by the front door like bees, and even spilling over onto the sidewalk benches. "I knew we should have gotten here earlier," I tell Amber with a lowered brow. I pull to the front door to let Amber go inside to "put our name on the list." By dropping her off at the front door, I secretly hoped we would beat a few slowpokes still walking in. Those suckers.

Coming back out of the restaurant, Amber holds the square buzzer in her hand, and yells to the open passenger window "20 minutes. Want to wait?" I should have said no because I hate waiting. I should have said no because this same restaurant just a few short months ago served my dad a salad with a piece of broken glass in it. But the food is so darn tasty, and it's reasonably priced too (sorry Dad), so I nodded yes and I parked the car. I started unloading Moore children like a daycare worker with the extended row van, and we proceeded to sit in the heat of the day, waiting for the square coaster looking device to vibrate and flash bright red lights indicating our wait was over. Is there anything more exciting than feeling the buzz and seeing the lights, knowing your table is ready? Not for chubby dads who love food and air conditioning. I thought about telling the host that took our buzzer that we waited for longer than 20 minutes, but the joy of having our own table, overwhelmed any frustration I was feeling once inside the restaurant. I guess these wait times aren't an exact science anyway. I've been to Disney, I know what "approximate wait time" means. Despite my initial frustrations, the food was good, as usual, and the kids were relatively well behaved. In the end, it was worth the wait. 

I've known Amber for about 23 years now. There has never been a single event or "date night" that she has ever beaten me to the car to leave. Likely because I'm bald and can quickly and easily dress myself, I guess. Sitting downstairs, I usually have to make small talk with the babysitter while I wait on Amber to finish getting ready. I hate waiting. The kids are often hyper when a babysitter comes over and JB nearly injures himself trying to show off. After what seems like a ridiculous amount of time, Amber finally makes it downstairs. As she starts giving instructions to the babysitter about routines and bedtimes, I catch a glimpse of what she's been working on for the last hour upstairs. "I made macaroni for the kids, and Mallory lost her iPad tonight for talking back again" Amber tells the sitter. As she's talking, I'm looking at the soon to be 38 year old mom of three, that looks more beautiful than she ever has. Man, I'm a lucky guy. It was worth the wait. 

We live in an era of instant gratification. We hate to wait. Somewhat related is the mindset of our society where permission is granted freely to "just do what makes you happy." I actually saw a video recently of a pastor at a mega church giving a sermon to cheering masses, "God is happy when you do what makes you happy" he told those in attendance. What?!? I don't think it always works that way. Listen, I'm as guilty as anyone of taking advantage of technological advancements and shortcuts. "Alexa, turn off the lights," is the last thing I utter every night before passing out. But sometimes, just sometimes, there are things in life that are worth the wait. If you can't afford the new car or new television, wait. If you are running from one job as opposed to running toward another, wait. If a teenage girl wants to prove to a boy she's dating, "that she really cares for him," sex isn't the answer, wait.

We tell God what We want, when We want it. God tells us, I'LL give you what you need, when you need it. Here is the sad reality, our clock and God's clock aren't in sync. God wears a flawless and selfless timepiece, while we sport a selfish and broken wristwatch. We have to humble ourselves, remember our role, and trust our wait with optimistic patience. God will give us direction, He will give us answers. The bible tells us many times in many places (see just a few examples below) that we should...wait. I hate waiting. 

The reality is we all have to wait for things in life. God knows the reason. God has a plan. We are told in the Gospels and in Revelation that one of the most important things we will ever wait on, is the return of our Savior, Jesus Christ. He is absolutely coming again, and He will come "like a thief in the night." When He does, He will see us and He will judge us. I pray that He sees someone in me that has been faithful to His teachings and promises. In my heart, I know I've fallen short so many times in my life, but I also know in my heart that I serve a loving and forgiving God. A God that loves me and loves you more than our simple minds can understand. He loves us just as we are, right where we are. If we have been far from Him, if we have placed Him behind other idols and priorities in our life, He is ready to welcome us back into His open arms. One day, our Father will welcome us into His home as well, to live with Him forever. I can't help but think when we get there, we will look around and joyfully and proudly say, "Man, this was worth the wait." 

Much Love, Adam


Lamentations 3:25
"The Lord is good to those who wait for him, to the soul who seeks him."
Psalm 62:5
"For God alone, O my soul, what in silence, for my hope is form him."
Psalm 33:20
"Our souls waits for the Lord; he is our help and our shield." 
Psalm 27:14
"Wait for the Lord; be strong, and let your hearts take courage; wait for the Lord." 
Psalm 130:5-6
"I wait for the Lord, my soul waits, and in his word I hope; my soul waits for the Lord more than watchmen for the morning, more than watchmen for the morning."
Micah 7:7
"But as for me, I will look to the Lord; I will wait for the God of my salvation; my God will hear me." 
1 Thessalonians 4:16
"For the Lord himself will descend from heaven with a cry of command, with the voice of an archangel, and with the sound of the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first." 
Hebrews 9:28
"So Christ, having been offered once to bear the sins of many, will appear a second time, not to deal with sin but to save those who are eagerly waiting on him." 

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

I once was lost, but now I’m found

Image
Two old men were lost driving together through Kentucky. When they finally saw a sign on the side of the interstate for the approaching town, the old man driving said, “We're almost to “Lewis-ville.” The old man sitting beside him in the passenger seat said, “It’s “Louie-ville.”" They argued back and forth about the pronunciation for a few minutes before the driver suggested, “let’s take the next exit, go into town and ask a local, then we will listen to them carefully as they tell us the name of the town, and we will have our answer.” The old man in the passenger seat agreed that would be a fair resolution to their dispute. So the driver pulled off the interstate, and into the parking lot of a local store, and the two old men went inside. The driver pleaded with the worker inside, “Sir, help my friend and me, please. Tell us very slowly and very clearly, where are we right this minute?" The worker leans forward over the counter and tells the two older gentleman, “Bur-G
Read more

My Favorite Floaties

Image
"I'm drowning, Amber. I can't do it. I can't keep my head above water." My voice cracked and I tried not to cry on the phone. How humiliating would that be? A grown man breaking down like a child talking to his fiancé. I was nearing the end of my first semester of law school. I was living alone in a small one bedroom apartment, and my closest family member lived four hours, and one state away. I didn't attend the most prestigious law school in the country, not even by a long shot, which made my struggles with the curriculum all the more frustrating. To give myself some credit, it wasn't really the curriculum, as much as the volume of the curriculum. The reading assignments never let up. Never. In undergrad, I could "buckle down," read ahead a little, and be just fine. In law school I felt like "Johnny 5" from the 1986 movie, "Short Circuit," and I still couldn't keep up. See the video below if you've not seen that c
Read more

The Love of a Teacher

Image
I still remember the nervous excitement as I walked into the kindergarten wing of Woodland Elementary School for the first time. We were the "mustangs" then, apparently they are the "hawks" now. Sadly, I must have missed the vote for the mascot change. At any rate, getting back to kindergarten, my socks were pulled up to my knees, and my empty backpack was strapped loosely around my shoulders. I had a fresh haircut from Ross the Boss and I sported a buck toothed smile. The same goofy smile my 9 year old son now flashes at me from time to time (Sorry about the big teeth, J.B.)  When I learned during the summer before kindergarten that my teacher's name was Ms. Thompson, I remember lying in my water bed (Don't you judge me, you had one too) and wondering what kind of teacher Ms. Thompson would be. Would she be strict? Would she be fun? Would she be kind? Would she like me? It turns out, she was a wonderful lady, who had the keen ability to ma
Read more